Welcome to the Yolohiker blog. This blog will cover all aspects of outdoor recreation in the Putah-Cache watersheds, with a focus on trip reports from Capay Valley Hiking Club outings, discussions of trails, gear, and occasionally the increasingly interesting politics of trails and open space in Yolo, Napa, and Lake Counties (and surrounding areas.)

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Hiking Club info - aka. What's going on with the hiking club?

A number of people have asked about the fall 2006 schedule. There are several things going on...

Sam and I want to make the program more sustainable. When we started this, it was small, just the two of us as leaders, and few members. That was six years ago. Since then, I've had kids and Sam's knees are feeling the effects of hikes from days past. And our membership is huge...

Also, with the hiking club adopted as a Tuleyome project, we now have the capability to use our non-profit sponsor's organizational abilities to help recruit hike leaders (docents). This, coupled with Tuleyome's acquisition of the Ireland Ranch, makes this even more important, as we will be seeking docents to lead hikes on that property as well.

Sam has suggested the following, in an email to our hiking list:

The Yolohiker web site Calendar of Hikes is not updated for 2006-7, mainly because we don't yet have a schedule.

The problem is that we leaders, mainly Andy and myself plus Carol, Herb and Andrea, need to expand our inventory of hike leaders-- so listen up, here's the plan:

We will have hikes on the second Sunday and fourth Saturday (with exceptions-- see calendar below) of each month through early next June. As usual, they will all start with a 9am rendezvous at either the Guinda Post Office or the Winters public parking lot at the intersection of Railroad and Russell. We have a large inventory of past hikes and a similar inventory of able-bodied hikers who know them and are capable of leading others on these hikes.

All we need to do is match-up the dates, hikes and leaders. The Trail maps pageof Yolohiker shows 15 hikes and Cross-country pageshows 6 more. And there are a half-dozen or so additional, eg, Long Canyon, Zim-Zim Falls, etc., not yet on the website.

Here's the bottom line: If you know one of these hikes (or a new one, not yet in our repertoire) and want to see it on the list, then pick a date and email me volunteering to lead the hike. If you've been on a hike with me or Andy, you know how it's done and we'll be happy to provide pointers, guidance etc. As these come in, Andy will replace To Be Announced on each date with the hike title and leader. I'll include it in this newsletter writeup and schedule.

But we need to make Yolohikers and the Capay Valley Hiking Club into more of a DIY adventure (instead of a DIMyself venture). Several people have already volunteered but now is the time to get the specifics to me-- where will we be going on Oct 28??

So, if you are interested in leading a hike and getting involved, let me know!

Dates we have set aside, but still need leaders If we don't get a leader, there won't be a hike on the day posted:

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Ireland Ranch Sneak PeakI recently went up to Tuleyome's Ireland Ranch, to beat through the brush to get to the BLM public lands Berryessa Peak unit. Here are some photos of the area, located in western Yolo County, along the ridge, between Winters and Esparto. Tuleyome is working on a management plan for their ranch, which will cover how to provide access (docent-hikes) to the ranch and publc lands beyond. Until that's completed and underway, enjoy these photos..... Image of Rocky Ridge (BLM)

Looking east, from the ridge, across the ranch.

Our group on one of the grassy knolls on the ranch, looking east.

One of the outstanding rock formations on Rocky Ridge/Blue Ridge public lands.